Decadence | Artful Balance

Self-indulgence is an instance of putting comfort above practicality or answering a call to responsibility; it can be saying "yes" to a craving, doing the bare minimum, or avoiding conflict that could lead to productive outcomes, among other things.

Decadence is systematic self-indulgence. With decadence, every new stimuli is met with an avoidance of extending one's self and seeking to resume a state of consumption as fast as possible.

Decadence sounds like "I can't be bothered." It's embodied by many vices, for instance, arrogance: "I am above you; you bore or repel me." It's disdain, resentment, and resistance, thinly veiled as boredom towards not only the world but to one's own growth impulse.

The best way I've found to squash decadence in myself is to slay boredom -- boredom: being listless, unengaged from the material and tasks set before me that I used to love -- because boredom is the link to the source of decadence, that is, small goals.

The process goes: small goals lead to boredom leads to instances of self-indulgence lead to pervasive, systematic decadence.

Ultimately, decadence signals to me that my goals are either too easy to demand long-term daily preparation, or the potential gains from reaching the goals are too underwhelming to elicit zeal or vigor enough to seriously pursue them.

And so, when I can, I should put myself in places and situations that challenge me and around people who interest me.

With interesting goals in sight, I begin to endorse the antidotes to decadence: "Nothing is beneath me. Not hard work, not menial work, not lowly work. Not learning any subject or skill. Not even interacting with people who I know don't share my values."

Decadence is the antithesis of survival, adaptability, and evolution. As such, it's a hindrance to growth.

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Artful Balance © 2019

These are my personal writings curated from material produced during my structured daily writing times as well as spontaneous thoughts I manage to record. Through organizing and uploading them i hope to learn about who I am as a voice and writer and find ways to improve my writing skills. Though I feel drawn to more cerebral topics, I would like my writing to be an engaging emotional journey none the less.

Someday I hope I figure out a way to assemble my short works into something more coherent and with a more obvious purpose. But right now, these tidbits are the best I can do.